Heel Pain Specialist

What is heel pain?

Heel pain is discomfort in the back or bottom of your foot that you feel when you walk or stand, even when you’re at rest. Swelling may occur at the same time. Heel pain is among the most common foot problems, affecting over 2 million Americans each year. 

What causes heel pain?

The causes of heel pain include foot trauma, overuse, and wear-and-tear. Conditions that cause heel pain include:

Plantar fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis affects the plantar fascia tissue that starts at the bottom of your heel. This flat ligament runs through your foot arch and ends at your toes. Plantar fasciitis develops when stress causes small tears within the ligament. The tissue becomes inflamed and painful. 

Plantar fasciitis pain starts at the back and can shoot toward your arch when you walk. Usually, plantar fasciitis is worse when you first awaken. Symptoms ease through the day but return after being off your feet for a while.

Achilles tendinitis

Achilles tendinitis affects the tendon that connects your calf muscle to your heel. If that tendon becomes inflamed, you can feel pain anywhere along the path of that tendon. Usually, Achilles tendinitis pain occurs just above the heel or on the back of your heel. 

Haglund's deformity

Haglund's deformity, or pump bump, occurs when a lump develops where your Achilles tendon joins your heel bone. This condition often occurs due to pressure on the back of the heel, typically from too-tight shoes like women's high heels. 

Pump bump can cause significant heel pain, which may recede when you're not wearing shoes.

Other possible reasons for heel pain include bursitis, bone fractures, skeletal abnormalities, and osteoarthritis. Dr. Suh can diagnose your heel pain and start effective treatment immediately.

What is the treatment for heel pain?

At DFW Foot and Ankle, Dr. Suh specializes in heel pain relief without the need for drugs or surgery. He may prescribe a combination of therapies, such as custom orthotics, changing your shoes, and activity modifications. Special foot exercises may also help with long-term heel pain. 

For fast pain relief, Dr. Suh uses radial shockwave therapy. With this cutting-edge, noninvasive treatment, he uses a treatment probe that delivers pressure waves to the heel. 

The pressure waves pass through your skin and into the inflamed tissue, where they stimulate your body's internal healing mechanisms. This leads to the formation of new blood vessels, which in turn deliver more oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the damaged tissue.

Radial shockwave therapy helps you heal faster, so you get pain relief more quickly.

To learn more about innovative, noninvasive heel pain relief treatments, call DFW Foot and Ankle or click on the scheduling link now.